There are two event formats in Olympic ski mountaineering, which make up three disciplines at the Milan Cortina Games: the sprint race (men's and women's disciplines) and the mixed relay race.

Eighteen athletes each qualify for the men's and women's sprint race, which is broken up into three heats of six athletes. The top-three athletes from each heat, plus the three-fastest athletes already not qualified from the combined heat rankings, advance to the semifinal round, which consists of two races of six athletes each. The top-two athletes from each semifinal and the fastest-two athletes from the combined semifinals who have not yet qualified make up the six athletes in the final race. 

The mixed relay event has one race at the Milan Cortina Games, with 12-18 teams of two athletes (one male and one female) all competing in the final for a chance to earn an Olympic medal.

Here are the main differences between the sprint race and mixed relay race at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics:

In each round of the sprint race in ski mountaineering, athletes complete one lap on the course to determine the fastest times. In the mixed relay race, athletes complete four laps of the course, two laps by the woman and two laps by the man. All teams use the same order: woman-man-woman-man.

In the final of the ski mountaineering sprint race, the skier to cross the finish line the fastest is the winner. In the mixed relay, the team that completes its fourth lap of the course the fastest wins the gold medal.

Ski mountaineering has a set bib assignment order related to rankings on the Olympic Sprint Ranking List (OSRL) and the Olympic Mixed Relay Ranking List (OSRRL), which factors an NOC's results in the ISMF World Cup within the qualification period and the 2025 Ski Mountaineering World Championships. The best athlete or NOC in each ranking list has the No. 1 bib, the second best wears No. 2, etc.

Athletes for the sprint race are organized into the following heats based on bib number:

The best-ranked athlete (by bib number) in each heat enters the starting area and chooses their position on the start line, followed sequentially by the rest of the athletes in the heat.

For the semifinals, the ranking is based on the results of the heats. The top-three finishers of each heat automatically qualify for the semifinal round, with three "Lucky Losers," or the three best remaining athlete times that don't automatically qualify, making up the final three slots :

*For athletes with the same rank in the previous phase, the athlete with the best race time of the previous heat chooses his or her position on the starting line first*

The semifinal races determine the order for choosing the starting position in the final race:

For the mixed doubles start, six teams are set starting next to each other on the front line with a second starting line 2.5 meters (approximately 8 feet) behind. The female athlete from each team starts the race and chooses the position on the starting line, with bib No. 1 selecting the first position of the mixed relay teams.

For sprint races, starting lanes each are 1m to 2m (approximately 3 feet to 6.5 feet).